Binoculars

[Carl F]

Hi there,

I am looking at helping the econcomy as Mr Rudd has suggested and was thinking of getting myself a pair of binoculars.
I have tried a couple of different pairs, Pentax 12x40 and 20x50, both are waterproof. I was also thinking about a pair of Nikon but havent tried them yet. $300(ish) is my budget.

Does anyone have any advice what would be good to use around YSSY, afterall this is where I would be doing 99% of my viewing. Would the 12x40 be sufficient as there a marked difference in magnification between those and the 20x50. Is 20 times too much???
Any help is appreciated.

Cheers
Carl

[damien b]

I use a Nikon 10x50 Binocular and its enough magnification when i'm at the mound to see most things that are of interest. Registration numbers of aircraft parked at International Terminal can be a bit hard to make out though (if thats something your interested in).

[Nigel C]

I've got 12 X 50's at home, and we use the same ones at work. The 12 X isn't too powerful, yet it gets us the info we need (be it looking at aircraft or identifying birds during surveys).
If you get 20 X 50, you may get issues like 'camera shake' when looking for finer detail at a distance, especially on a windy day. And let's face it, airports can be notoriously windy places!

If you tripod or bipod 20 X magnification, then you can eliminate the shake, but that's just adding to the overall cost. I'd suggest going with the 12 X magnification for practicality and versatility.

[Carl F]

Thanks guys,

Thats what I was thinking, afterall planes are quite big things...It looks like the 12x40 will be the way to go then.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers
Carl

[Raymond Rowe]

Originally Posted by Nigel C

I've got 12 X 50's at home, and we use the same ones at work. The 12 X isn't too powerful, yet it gets us the info we need (be it looking at aircraft or identifying birds during surveys).
.

What sort of Birds nigel.

[Paul Hunter]

We use 10x50 in the tower.

They work well for the whole airfield.

Regards.

[Greg McDonald]

What's a decent brand to buy? I've found a lot can't take the slightest knock without dislodging the glass.

[Nigel C]

We use Pentax, which are fine for the applications we use them for. They cop a fair workout in the cars, and still go alright.

Ray, they'd be the long legged, big breasted blonde ones. A bit like this really....

[Paul Hunter]

All ours are Gerber binoculars.

Regards.

[Joseph Saragozza.]

Originally Posted by Paul Hunter

All ours are Gerber binoculars.

paul, where can i get these binoculars from and how much would they cost?

thanks